VanVelzen

Under the name VanVelzen, Roel van Velzen has developed melodic pop-rock in the Netherlands, built on songwriting, piano and guitar, with a flexible vocal delivery often geared towards very direct choruses. Born in Delft in 1978, he started in school bands and later played with The Goldfish before emerging as a solo artist in the mid-2000s. VanVelzen drew attention in 2006 with the single «Baby Get Higher», followed by «Burn» and his debut album Unwind (2007), which established his clear pop-rock song format. He continued in that vein with Take Me In (2009) and Hear Me Out (2009), alternating between punchy tracks and softer ballads, and collaborating with writers such as John Ewbank and Andreas Johnson. His career also crosses other scenes, notably the electronic field with «Broken Tonight» alongside Armin van Buuren, while remaining rooted in pop. After The Rush of Life (2012) and Call It Luck (2015), VanVelzen moved toward a more theatrical format and, more recently, a Dutch-language repertoire, evident on the EP Veranderlust (2023). Present on Dutch stages for more than fifteen years, he has also taken part in several collective projects, including The Streamers.